Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price Down 7% After Insider Selling

Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) shares traded down 7% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $99.58 and last traded at $102.69. 1,058,898 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 1,309,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.37.

Specifically, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.55, for a total transaction of $63,132.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,601.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 2,552 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $233,201.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,046,550.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.55, for a total value of $63,132.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,397 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,601.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 120,450 shares of company stock worth $12,736,470 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Natera from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Natera in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Natera from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Craig Hallum began coverage on Natera in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Natera from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.19.

Natera Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.45. The company has a quick ratio of 3.98, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a PE ratio of -34.87 and a beta of 1.48.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.16. Natera had a negative return on equity of 49.72% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The firm had revenue of $367.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Natera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,166,000. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Natera in the 2nd quarter worth about $305,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in shares of Natera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $478,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Natera by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,622 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Natera by 59.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 3,442 shares during the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.